“I’d like you to help me check if something has happened to them,” said Lin Xinyan.
She was getting more worried by the day, especially now that she knew Gu Bei was trying to get close to her.
Shao Yun had the outer appearance of someone unreliable, but he was in fact a very responsible person who routinely helped to put her mind at ease. Lin Xinyan had only known him for a short while, but he had never let her down before. Wen Xian and Zhuang Ziyi had probably chosen him back then because of his exemplary character.
Lin Xinyan thanked her lucky stars that she had called Shao Yun just now. Otherwise, she would have gotten herself into huge trouble.
Her mind was spinning. Feeling a headache coming on, Lin Xinyan massaged her temples and sighed.
“Are you still worried about him?” Shao Yun asked.
Actually, he was itching to tell Lin Xinyan that he had spotted Zong Jinghao below her apartment block the other day.
However, he didn’t know that Lin Xinyan already knew about that.
“Yes, I’m worried. After all, two of my children are with him,” Lin Xinyan said, resting her forehead on her hand.
“Did you meet up with him?” Shao Yun asked, shocked. “Did the two kids follow him to B City, too?”
In a low voice, Lin Xinyan replied, “He didn’t show up personally. His friend came and picked up the children for him.”
“Don’t worry any more, your face looks a little pale. Have a good rest. I’ll help you investigate everything,” Shao Yun said confidently.
“Alright.” Lin Xinyan felt extremely tired.
A short while later, the car turned into her neighborhood. Lin Xinyan unbuckled her seat belt and pushed open the door. As she stepped out of the car, she turned to Shao Yun and said, “Drive safely, Uncle.”
Shao Yun nodded. “Take good care of yourself!”
Lin Xinyan smiled at him before walking back to her apartment block. When she finally got home, she flew into her bedroom and tossed herself onto the bed.
She was very tired, but try as she might, she couldn’t fall asleep. She grabbed her phone and opened her contacts list. Gazing at Su Zhan and Shen Peichuan’s numbers, she realized that she had changed her number, but the others still remained the same.
She wanted to give them a call to ask about the situation back home. However, as her finger hovered over the ‘call’ button, she found herself hesitating.
In the end, she decided not to give them a call.
Just as she put down her phone, its screen lit up with a notification from the daily news app. Lin Xinyan reached out to dismiss the notification. After all, there were all sorts of news everyday, and she was used to these notifications. However, her fingers slipped as she tried to swipe it away, and she ended up tapping on the news article instead. Coincidentally, the article was about Wen Qing’s sentence.
Instantly, her grip around the phone tightened, and her arms began to tremble.
She had tried so hard to avoid reading any news about him. When she left the city, she had hoped to put her past behind her, too.
Despite her misgivings, however, she continued reading the article.
Lines upon lines of words filled the entire article. There wasn’t a picture to be seen.
Wen Qing had been sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence. Actually, that wasn’t a heavy punishment at all. He had been given a reprieve, which meant that a criminal who had been sentenced to the death penalty under the law would have his punishment postponed or cancelled entirely. The court had announced his sentence, but added that they would not carry out the punishment immediately.
During Wen Qing’s probation period, the legal team would assess his behavior. Based on his performance, the legal team would recommend if another form of penalty were more suitable for him.
For criminals who had been granted a reprieve, they were expected to behave themselves and demonstrate the right attitude during the probation period. If they did, the court would cancel their original sentence after their probation and mete out a more appropriate punishment.
The Wen family had always enjoyed a great reputation among the public. Although they hadn’t collapsed completely after Wen Qing’s incident, their reputation had gone down the drain entirely, with the news travelling far and wide and even reaching neighboring cities.
This outcome was worse than death for Wen Qing. It had wrought great damage to his mental health.
Lin Xinyan put down her phone and stared at her ceiling. She had never felt great love towards the Wen family, but hearing about this made her feel a little sorry for them.
She wasn’t deeply sorry, however. It would be more accurate to describe her emotions as melancholic.
Lin Xinyan felt even more sorry about Cheng Yuxiu’s death.
Wen Qing had caused Lin Xinyan’s lover to lose his mother, and her children to lose their grandmother. She would never stop feeling guilty towards the people she loved.
Ding dong!
The doorbell suddenly rang, startling Lin Xinyan out of her reverie. She jumped out of bed immediately, startled. The only other person living in the apartment was Qin Ya, and she knew the passcode to the front door. She didn’t need to ring the doorbell.
Ding dong!
The doorbell rang again. Frowning, Lin Xinyan put on her slippers and ran to open the front door.
